Remember when you could get a job with just a high school diploma? By 2020, it’s projected that 65 percent of jobs will require a diploma, AND, higher education. Upward Bound is more than doubling the chances of low-income, first-generation students graduating and going to college nationwide, including 6,500 in the Deep South. Today, Louisiana Public Broadcasting producers Kevin Gautreaux and Shauna Sanford take a look at this federally funded program and its summer work.

Fewer reading materials in the home. Less access to camps or museums. Those are some reasons summer learning loss disproportionately affects low-income kids. There are many in the South, which can hamper efforts to raise graduation rates. But in Part Two of this Southern Education Desk series, WBHM’s Dan Carsen reports on “GEAR UP Alabama” — a wide-ranging federally funded attempt to meet those challenges, and more.

National education leaders are trumpeting recent increases in high school graduation rates, yet about 20 percent of kids still dropout before completing high school. That number jumps significantly among the Southern poor in places like Alabama and Mississippi. And it costs money. Dropouts earn less and governments pay more to support them. One possible solution? Make summer a season of learning for students that could help them stay engaged and in school. Sherrel Wheeler Stewart kicks off our series on Summer Learning and its impact high school graduation.

When school bells next month signal the start of another year, millions will head back to class, but others who have dropped out will stay at home. Alma Powell, a Birmingham native and daughter of a former Parker High School principal, leads America’s Promise Alliance. This non profit is focused on increasing the nationwide high graduation rate to 90 percent.

Fewer reading materials in the home. Less access to camps or museums. Those are some reasons summer learning loss disproportionately affects low-income kids. There are many in the South, which can hamper efforts to raise graduation rates. But in Part Two of this Southern Education Desk series, WBHM’s Dan Carsen reports on “GEAR UP Alabama” — a wide-ranging federally funded attempt to meet those challenges, and more.

Rowan Shafer is a third grade teacher at Morris Jeff Community School. She’s committed to teaching a social justice curriculum… which she knows can sound abstract. “Yeah, those are easy words to say that mean a lot of things,” she says. In this month’s Voices of Educators segment, Shafer describes [...]

When a school announces it’s closing, it doesn’t just shut its doors the next day. There’s a whole closure process. It’s a process Miller McCoy Academy — an all-boys middle and high school — has been following this year. We look inside that process as part of our series “Closing [...]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The high school students attending summer classes in Upward Bound will most likely graduate on time and get a diploma. But they’re giving up summers and Saturdays during the school year with an eye on what happens after high school. That’s one goal of Upward Bound– a [...]

Recent Posts

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The high school students attending summer classes in Upward Bound will most likely graduate on time and get a diploma. But they’re giving up summers and Saturdays during the school year with an eye on what happens after high school. That’s one goal of Upward Bound– a [...]

Remember when you could get a job with just a high school diploma? By 2020, it’s projected that 65 percent of jobs will require a diploma, AND, higher education. Upward Bound is more than doubling the chances of low-income, first-generation students graduating and going to college nationwide, including 6,500 in the Deep South. Today, Louisiana Public Broadcasting producers Kevin Gautreaux and Shauna Sanford take a look at this federally funded program and its summer work.

Fewer reading materials in the home. Less access to camps or museums. Those are some reasons summer learning loss disproportionately affects low-income kids. There are many in the South, which can hamper efforts to raise graduation rates. But in Part Two of this Southern Education Desk series, WBHM’s Dan Carsen reports on “GEAR UP Alabama” — a wide-ranging federally funded attempt to meet those challenges, and more.

Chris Barbic nearly worked himself to death last year. At age 44, the otherwise healthy head of Tennessee’s new turnaround school district had a heart attack. Now he’s stepping down, well before his educational experimentation bears much fruit. Barbic has been one of the most closely-watched superintendents in the country. And as he leaves the job ahead of schedule, he’s raising eyebrows with what he calls an “honest” critique of charter schools.

National education leaders are trumpeting recent increases in high school graduation rates, yet about 20 percent of kids still dropout before completing high school. That number jumps significantly among the Southern poor in places like Alabama and Mississippi. And it costs money. Dropouts earn less and governments pay more to support them. One possible solution? Make summer a season of learning for students that could help them stay engaged and in school. Sherrel Wheeler Stewart kicks off our series on Summer Learning and its impact high school graduation.

More and more people are learning about the risks contact sports pose to the brain. So even here in the football-loving Deep South, parents and young athletes are wrestling with a serious dilemma, one that could affect them decades later: to play or not to play. To help parents facing that decision, our Alabama reporter got some personal perspective from families who’ve already faced sports-related concussions.

The Mississippi Board of Education is asking Governor Phil Bryant to approve a takeover of the Tunica County School District. Education officials say the district is in violation of 22 state and federal accreditation standards.

An emotional issue across the South and the nation came to a head in Vestavia Hills last night — the debate over symbols related to the Confederacy. The school board held a public forum, partly spurred by residents who want the system to drop its “Rebel” mascot.

About

We are a consortium of public media stations in five Southern states — Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee —committed to exploring the challenges and opportunities confronting education in the southern United States in the 21st century.